Kisumu County

The name Kisumu comes from the Luo word "Kisuma"Kikelo. Generally, Kisuma means "a place where people meet to exchange goods" but it does not necessarily mean the same word as "market" (chiro in Luo). The term was especially used during famine where a person could " visit" relatives who had some short of harvest where the "visitor" when going back to his/her place could be "escorted with" or given some grains and dried meat (aliya in Luo). The word originally comes from the verb "sumo", which means "getting material want through exchange or as an assistance when one has minimal ability then, it should be differentiated from 'fulo' where one rummages through the farm of someone else after the harvest to pick dropped or omitted crops to collect and take home for consumption". When Europeans and Indians came to the area of the present-day city of Kisumu, pronouncing the name "Kisuma" correctly proved difficult, and the name evolved into the current Kisumu. The local people however, now popularly call the place "Kisumo".[5]

Kisumu County is located in western Kenya, far from the nation’s capital. (To the southwest, in neighboring Siaya County, lies the village of Nyang’oma Kogelo, birthplace of Barack Obama Sr.) The city of Kisumu, on the shores of Lake Victoria, has historically functioned as a major center of Western Kenya commerce. Because of its location along Africa’s largest lake, the area is ideally situated for fishing and fish processing, but the central government has long controlled key concessions on the lake, and economic development has left many of the inhabitants behind. Fishing, sugarcane farming, and rice farming are the county’s principal industries.

The climate of the whole county is modified by the presence of Lake Victoria. The county has an annual relief rainfall that ranges between 1200 mm and 1300 mm in different sectors. The rain mainly falls in two seasons. Kisumu is known for its thunderstorms, which are the major type of precipitation and normally occur in mid-afternoon during the rainy season.[6]

The temperature of the surrounding towns and regions can vary greatly. On the western side, which includes the constituencies of Kisumu West and Seme, temperatures tend to be cooler than the adjacent lake basin. Maseno Division and Nyahera division are known for moderate weather conditions. On the Eastern side, Nyabondo plateau is cooler than the neighboring Kano Plains.[7]

Kisumu is warm throughout the year with a mean annual temperature of 23. 0C. The temperature ranges between 20 0C and 35 0C but seldom falls below 19 0C. The humidity is relatively high throughout the year.[8][6]

The second and current Governor[9] of Kisumu County is Anyang' Nyong'o, and the Deputy Governor is Dr. Mathews Owili.[10] Before the election of Prof. Nyong'o and Dr. Owili in August 2017, the First Governor from 2013 to 2017 was Mr. Jack Ranguma whose Deputy was Ms. Ruth Odinga.[11] Fredrick Otieno Outa is the second senator after the first senator Anyang Nyong ran for governor in 2017.[12] Rozaah Akinyi Buyu is the women representative and join office in 2017,[13] she is the second women representative after winning against first women representative Rose Nyamunga.[14][15]

The legislature of the county is called the County Assembly and has 35 representatives.

Administratively, the county is divided into 7 constituencies which share common boundaries and names with 7 of the 8 sub-counties, the eighth Kadibo sub-county was created by President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration and was gazetted on 29 October 2021, with the headquarters of the sub-county to be at Rabuor. It was split from Nyando Sub-county The sub-counties are further divided into 35 wards, which also forward representatives to the County Assembly in Kisumu City.[16]

The Kisumu Campus of the University of Nairobi

Maseno University is the crown jewel of higher education in Kisumu county. The university attracts students from all over Kenya who are attracted to the institution due to its excellent infrastructure and lush green environs.

Kisumu County has several colleges and universities, including a campus of Kenya's largest university, Nairobi University. Other universities include Maseno University (best known for its IT department), Great Lakes University and several teaching and nursing colleges. Primary and secondary education is provided by 706 primary schools and 173 public secondary schools, including two of the oldest secondary schools in Kenya; Maseno School . A substantial number of private institutions also exist within the county.

The enrolment in primary school and secondary school stood at 240, 538 and 38, 815 as of 2009. The teacher to pupil ratio was 1:51 for primary and 1:30 for secondary. Kisumu Polytechnic provides several technical courses for young adults and also professionals, including some diploma courses. 5 youth polytechnics also exist in various parts of the county.[17]

Health in Kisumu County is provided by several institutions that are either private or government funded. There is one teaching and referral hospital, 5 County referral hospital, 14 sub-county hospitals, 74 dispensaries and 18 health centres in the county. The naming system has been changed due to the fact that the system of government has changed and Kenya is now operating a devolved system of government. The county government shall now fully responsible for health service delivery to residents in the county through health facilities and pharmacies as enshrined in Schedule 4 of the Constitution of Kenya (2010). . The Infant Mortality Rates for Kisumu County is relatively high, at 95/1000. The under five mortality rates for the county are 149/1000. The maternal mortality has been estimated to be 590 per 100,000 live births

The location of Kisumu County puts it in major breeding ground for mosquitos, and malaria has been a perennial problem since time immemorial. Another health problem that majorly affects the county is the relatively high rates of HIV infection. But the rate has stabilised at 19.0%. Key health facilities in the county are Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (popularly known as Russia since it was built by the Soviets), the Kisumu County Referral Hospital and the Aga Khan Hospital Kisumu. All facilities are located in Kisumu City. There are two CDC funded centres in Kisumu, one in Kisian and the other in Kombewa. They engage in research in several diseases which affect the local communities, including HIV and malaria.

Population Density in Kisumu County

Kisumu County is relatively densely populated compared with the rest of Kenya. The 2009 census showed that the county had a population of 968,909. With an area of 2,085.9 km2, Kisumu County has a population density of 460 per square kilometres, comparable to that of the entire South Korea. The vast majority of the people belong to the Luo ethnic community, the third largest tribe in Kenya and one of the largest in East Africa. There are also small numbers of minorities from the other ethnic communities of Kenya, predominantly the Luhya. Indians came with the railway construction, and now form a substantial Indian community in Kisumu city. The dominant language is Dholuo, but Kiswahili and English are also spoken by a majority of the population for non-domestic purposes.

The people of Kisumu eat a lot of fish prepared in a variety of ways. This high consumption has sometimes been touted as one of the causes of the generally higher IQ levels in the region, and the eating of fish has become popular all over Kenya as a result. This is usually accompanied by ugali, a dish made of maize flour which can also be mixed with other grains, mostly millet, sorghum and/or cassava. Vegetables are also eaten.

In the 2019 census, the rural population of the county was estimated to be 714,668;[19] With the city population estimated to be 397,957.[20] The city comprises the majority of the urban residents in the county, whose total population was 1,155,574.[21]

• Hannington Apudo was the first indigenous military pilot in the Kenya Air Force.
• Robert Ouko from Nyahera was a notable foreign minister under the Moi government.
• Prof. Simeon Ominde from Nyahera the first indigenous professor in the University of East Africa and founder of the Population Institute University of Nairobi.
• First Kisumu County Governor Mr. Jack Ranguma
• Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, politician.
• Wilson Ndolo Ayah, Minister for Foreign Affairs Kisumu Rural Constituency *Gilbert Oloo Njoga politician

• AssawaKanyakwar village
• Kajulu Hills
• Abwao-Kadiang'a Village
• Kogony village-Where Kisumu International Airport rests.
• Kadeya Village
• Kolwal Village

• Map of Kisumu County

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